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Imaginary Friend
by
Christopher is seven years old.
Christopher is the new kid in town.
Christopher has an imaginary friend.
We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.
Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with her child. Together, they find themselves drawn to the ...more
Christopher is the new kid in town.
Christopher has an imaginary friend.
We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.
Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with her child. Together, they find themselves drawn to the ...more
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Hardcover, 705 pages
Published
October 1st 2019
by Grand Central Publishing
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I was so afraid of my contact lens numbers were going to be bigger than my irises after I finished this book (Give me a biggest Chardonnay break, my dear friends, this month I read “Institution”, “Gold Finch” and still working on “Priory of Orange Tree” which has also 800 pages. My red eyed image is still giving creeps to neighborhood kids and their mothers which is fine with me, I can eat trick or treat candies I’ve bough to serve them and I could also steal their M&M- only the red ones, they c
...more

This morning I FINALLY managed to finish Imaginary Friend. I started this book and was immediately hooked. It was uber creepy, really well written, I was loving it.
Sadly it was all downhill from there. 700+ pages of which maybe half ended up being relevant/adding to the story. Now I love a tome. I recently read Wanderers which was longer than this one but had zero wasted scenes or words and was an epic that read fast. So it's not the length itself that was an issue. I read King and Tolstoy. Trus ...more
Sadly it was all downhill from there. 700+ pages of which maybe half ended up being relevant/adding to the story. Now I love a tome. I recently read Wanderers which was longer than this one but had zero wasted scenes or words and was an epic that read fast. So it's not the length itself that was an issue. I read King and Tolstoy. Trus ...more

Sep 15, 2019
Chelsea Humphrey
rated it
really liked it
Recommended to Chelsea by:
Grand Central Publishing
Now available as a BOTM add on starting in October!
Long ago, books stopped terrifying me in the way that people search out from the likes of gory, graphic horror films. Somewhere upon entering adulthood, the paranormal took a backseat to the chills provided by child abuse, sexual assault, and the murder of members of minority groups who never gain an ounce of justice, but this book terrified me in ways that I haven't experienced in over a decade, mainly due to combining paranormal AND realistic ...more
Long ago, books stopped terrifying me in the way that people search out from the likes of gory, graphic horror films. Somewhere upon entering adulthood, the paranormal took a backseat to the chills provided by child abuse, sexual assault, and the murder of members of minority groups who never gain an ounce of justice, but this book terrified me in ways that I haven't experienced in over a decade, mainly due to combining paranormal AND realistic ...more

how in the world did stephen chbosky go from writing 'we accept the love we think we deserve' to an entire book dedicated to a child haunted by horrifying imaginary people?!
i guess 20 years between books is enough time for an author to change. and in this case, 20 years to plan stephen kings demise. because holy crap. this is the creepiest thing ive ever read, in the most bizarre way possible.
this actually reminded me a lot of ‘stranger things’ - strange things happen, its a little spooky and ...more
i guess 20 years between books is enough time for an author to change. and in this case, 20 years to plan stephen kings demise. because holy crap. this is the creepiest thing ive ever read, in the most bizarre way possible.
this actually reminded me a lot of ‘stranger things’ - strange things happen, its a little spooky and ...more

"We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us."
Imaginary Friend feels very much like a classic horror novel which is both a good and a bad thing. To begin with, we have a group of young kids, an unknown evil that fills them with fear and despair, a small town on the brink of chaos, and missing dead children from 50 years ago. And it is terribly creepy. When I first read The Perks of Being a Wallflower I remember feeling underwhelmed. I didn’t get why people loved this story so much. Neithe ...more
Imaginary Friend feels very much like a classic horror novel which is both a good and a bad thing. To begin with, we have a group of young kids, an unknown evil that fills them with fear and despair, a small town on the brink of chaos, and missing dead children from 50 years ago. And it is terribly creepy. When I first read The Perks of Being a Wallflower I remember feeling underwhelmed. I didn’t get why people loved this story so much. Neithe ...more

Wow! I’ll tell you now, this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but it was 100% up my street.
Mind bending, so incredibly clever with such beautiful and heartfelt language and messages. I’m astonished and reviewing this is gonna be bloody hard.
"He knew how he found the skeleton. He knew that the bones had been there for a long time. He even thought he knew the name of the kid who died. But he couldn't tell the grown-ups that. Because eventually, they would ask him how he knew everything. And he on ...more
Mind bending, so incredibly clever with such beautiful and heartfelt language and messages. I’m astonished and reviewing this is gonna be bloody hard.
"He knew how he found the skeleton. He knew that the bones had been there for a long time. He even thought he knew the name of the kid who died. But he couldn't tell the grown-ups that. Because eventually, they would ask him how he knew everything. And he on ...more

I'll be first to admit that I never read horror, nor do I have the interest, but I wanted to give Stephen Chbosky a try just because he was an iconic author of my teenage years. But this..... wasn't it. Even from the objective perspective of someone not into horror, especially paranormal/fantastical horror, this was a longwinded mess.
This book started out strong to trick you to read on, but the ending was catastrophically terrible. The first 25% is basically what the synopsis describes, and then ...more
This book started out strong to trick you to read on, but the ending was catastrophically terrible. The first 25% is basically what the synopsis describes, and then ...more

This book went two vastly different directions for me.
Sometimes I thought it was fascinating, unique, creative, and genius – 5 stars
Other times I though it was dragging on, too repetitive, wanted it to get to the point, way too long – 1 star
Sometimes those two feelings would occur within a couple of pages of each other.
It was quite wild ride!
This is nothing like The Perks of Being a Wallflower. If I didn’t know it was the same author, I would never have guessed it.
The story reminded me of a mix ...more
Sometimes I thought it was fascinating, unique, creative, and genius – 5 stars
Other times I though it was dragging on, too repetitive, wanted it to get to the point, way too long – 1 star
Sometimes those two feelings would occur within a couple of pages of each other.
It was quite wild ride!
This is nothing like The Perks of Being a Wallflower. If I didn’t know it was the same author, I would never have guessed it.
The story reminded me of a mix ...more

“Death is coming! Death is here! We’ll die on Christmas Day!”
- Stephen Chbosky, Imaginary Friend
Holy wow.
This is a tough one to talk about.
For about 600 of this book’s 700 pages, I was fully committed and absolutely on board. I was enjoying every page of Stephen Chbosky’s Imaginary Friend, marveling at the intricate plotting, the engaging characters, the slam-bang set-pieces, and the utter uniqueness of the premise, even as I mentally ticked off all the influences (A Nightmare on Elm Street, ...more
- Stephen Chbosky, Imaginary Friend
Holy wow.
This is a tough one to talk about.
For about 600 of this book’s 700 pages, I was fully committed and absolutely on board. I was enjoying every page of Stephen Chbosky’s Imaginary Friend, marveling at the intricate plotting, the engaging characters, the slam-bang set-pieces, and the utter uniqueness of the premise, even as I mentally ticked off all the influences (A Nightmare on Elm Street, ...more

Perks of Being a Wallflower was not part of my adolescence and I’m not much of a horror reader although I do enjoy it every once in a great while. So, I’m not quite the right reader for this ambitious novel. Needless to say twenty years after the publication of Perks, Imaginary Friend is quite a departure for Chbosky. As is fairly typical of horror novels, the main conflict is good vs. evil, God vs. the devil and so on and so forth. The kids-in-jeopardy trope is in full swing which echoes King b
...more

Started ok, but dragged on way too long. It really should have been half its length. I skimmed to the end and my rating kept shedding stars as I plowed through the nonsense. I am not a fan of Christian fiction and if it had been advertised as such I never would have started the book, and I would have been spared.

Started out good for me, then turned into a slog. Sigh, whatever, moving on!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

In this stunning thriller by Stephen Chbosky, the reader is taken through a dark world where a young boy holds a great deal of power in his small Pennsylvania community. After fleeing Michigan, Christopher Reece and his mother, Kate, end up in the Pittsburgh area, ready for a new start. Things begin in a problematic manner for young Christopher, who is ridiculed for being different and finds himself struggling with some learning disabilities. When Christopher goes exploring in the forest close t
...more

"A nightmare is nothing more than a dream gone sick."
This book.... THIS BOOK. I never read Perks of Being a Wallflower but what I do know is that this author went to a completely different genre with this young adult horror fiction read. Is it worth every 700+ page? You bet your ass it is.
To begin with, the main character's name is Christopher Reese - this made it somewhat sentimental to me because my family became very close with the Reese family when we lived in Italy. Their youngest was thei ...more
This book.... THIS BOOK. I never read Perks of Being a Wallflower but what I do know is that this author went to a completely different genre with this young adult horror fiction read. Is it worth every 700+ page? You bet your ass it is.
To begin with, the main character's name is Christopher Reese - this made it somewhat sentimental to me because my family became very close with the Reese family when we lived in Italy. Their youngest was thei ...more

This 700 page book was a wild ride. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year because I adore Stephen Chbosky and I couldn't be more curious to see what he does with the horror/thriller genre, and this book did not disappoint for the most part.
I recorded my entire experience reading this book in a reading vlog so I'm just gonna leave that here if you're curious to hear my thoughts: https://youtu.be/4Apl4du60fs ...more
I recorded my entire experience reading this book in a reading vlog so I'm just gonna leave that here if you're curious to hear my thoughts: https://youtu.be/4Apl4du60fs ...more
![destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1557144778p2/15335689.jpg)
After a lot of internal debate, I've finally decided to put this one to rest. I was so tremendously excited to read this that I picked it up as an ARC and read the first 30% or so, but then I set it down months ago and was never able to convince myself to put it back up. After numerous attempts now to resume it, I'm finally accepting the fact that I'm simply not invested enough in this story to bother. Chbosky is a brilliant writer and I stand by that, but the plot of this book simply does not w
...more

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
3.5 Stars
“A nightmare is nothing but a dream gone sick.”
Where do I even begin when it comes to the release of this (20 year) long awaited tome? I guess the easiest thing to do is address the obvious. For those of you who have been anticipating a new Perks to fall in love with, I have some bad news . . . .
There is no Charlie to be had here. Instead, there is a Christopher. A little boy who recently moved to small-town Pennsylva ...more
3.5 Stars
“A nightmare is nothing but a dream gone sick.”
Where do I even begin when it comes to the release of this (20 year) long awaited tome? I guess the easiest thing to do is address the obvious. For those of you who have been anticipating a new Perks to fall in love with, I have some bad news . . . .

There is no Charlie to be had here. Instead, there is a Christopher. A little boy who recently moved to small-town Pennsylva ...more

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I can't believe I didn't DNF this one. It was over 700 pages, and at least half of that could have been edited out to tighten up the plot and get to the action faster. There was a lot of repetition, and seriously, there were multiple climax points of the story. The "big final battle" happened three or four times. Much of the story never made sense, and if it was allegorical, well, it did ...more
I can't believe I didn't DNF this one. It was over 700 pages, and at least half of that could have been edited out to tighten up the plot and get to the action faster. There was a lot of repetition, and seriously, there were multiple climax points of the story. The "big final battle" happened three or four times. Much of the story never made sense, and if it was allegorical, well, it did ...more

This freaking thing! When I first heard about this book, i thought I'd love it. It sounds so fucking sinister! Yes, I used the f word! Why? Because, I thought I was going to read good, old fashioned, scare the shit outta me horror! NOPE. What I got was some messed the hell up, religion..type of bullshit. Why the hell anyone would try to mix religion with horror is beyond me! Don't get me wrong. There have been some effed up people who can combine the two. But, really now! If you think you are a
...more

4.0 Stars
Wow - now I understand why other readers love epic horror!
Video Review: https://youtu.be/tXRuZKydia4
This was an incredibly engaging narrative that pulled me in from the very first page. While I normally struggle with long horror novels, I flew through this seven hundred page tome incredibly fast. The characters were incredibly likeable and writing was spot on. The narrative was certainly reminiscent of some of Stephen King’s epic works with similar themes, yet this novel stood on its ow ...more
Wow - now I understand why other readers love epic horror!
Video Review: https://youtu.be/tXRuZKydia4
This was an incredibly engaging narrative that pulled me in from the very first page. While I normally struggle with long horror novels, I flew through this seven hundred page tome incredibly fast. The characters were incredibly likeable and writing was spot on. The narrative was certainly reminiscent of some of Stephen King’s epic works with similar themes, yet this novel stood on its ow ...more

The Perks of Being a Wallflower deserves all the acclaim it has received. Between that and my love of the horror genre, I was really excited when Imaginary Friend was announced. My excitement went even higher when I found out that Chbosky's first book in 20 years was being touted as a literary horror novel. All of these things should have combined into a fantastic reading experience. Unfortunately, it's didn't. At all. As some would say, I just can't even with this book.
The first 50 pages or so ...more
The first 50 pages or so ...more

Feb 07, 2019
✨ jamieson ✨
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
random-choice-tbr,
anticipated-2019
STEPHEN CHBOSKY
AUTHOR OF THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER???????
AKA THE BOOK THAT DEFINED MY HIGH SCHOOL YEARS AND STILL MAKES ME CRY ????
THIS IS IT CHIEF
AUTHOR OF THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER???????
AKA THE BOOK THAT DEFINED MY HIGH SCHOOL YEARS AND STILL MAKES ME CRY ????
THIS IS IT CHIEF

Wow, this book. THIS BIZARRE AND HAUNTING BOOK. When I was in high school, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower really helped me get a grip on my own inner demons, and it helped me accept myself and my differences with my other classmates in school. That being said, when I heard Chbosky was releasing a book 20 years later, I was curious about it's conception. After reading the synopsis; seeing it as a literary horror/supernatural tale of epic proportions, I knew I needed to get my h
...more

Jan 01, 2020
Brittany
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
z2020-challenge,
horror,
fiction,
fantasy-paranormal,
mystery,
spiritual,
paranormal,
reviews
Well, the ending was worth pushing through to get to but maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan was the journey long. I wish this book was about 300 pages shorter because it would have been told in a more concise way.
There was a lot of early Stephen King feel to the book, especially in the length that could easily be cut. Reminded me of reading the uncut version of The Stand. This was another Good vs Evil with many players. I did enjoy the mother-son relationship and the way that guilt was shown in many ways. ...more
There was a lot of early Stephen King feel to the book, especially in the length that could easily be cut. Reminded me of reading the uncut version of The Stand. This was another Good vs Evil with many players. I did enjoy the mother-son relationship and the way that guilt was shown in many ways. ...more

5/5stars
October 2020;
Even better the second time. Wow I wish I could give this 6/5stars
October 2019;
wow woW WOW I absolutely LOVED this - I read this 700+ page book in 3 days and wow my thoughts are all over the place but I'll try to put them down here;
- I actually thought the length of this was PERFECT, i've seen a lot of people say it dragged or was too slow at the beginning, but to me this was the perfect length to do what this book needed to - i cared SO MUCH about every single character, ev ...more
October 2020;
Even better the second time. Wow I wish I could give this 6/5stars
October 2019;
wow woW WOW I absolutely LOVED this - I read this 700+ page book in 3 days and wow my thoughts are all over the place but I'll try to put them down here;
- I actually thought the length of this was PERFECT, i've seen a lot of people say it dragged or was too slow at the beginning, but to me this was the perfect length to do what this book needed to - i cared SO MUCH about every single character, ev ...more

sUch A MaSsiVe waStE oF tiMe.
The first bit was creepy and spooky, and I loved it enough to be duped into reading the next 600+ pages hoping something great would happen. And then feeling throughout like maybe I should stop reading? But oh man I’ve already read 250-300-450-500 pages, and I’m in it, and I should just finish it because it could turn itself around and maybe, maybe, maybe....
Nope. Instead I got this:
A few twists and turns and scary parts, but mostly hundreds and hundreds of pages of ...more
The first bit was creepy and spooky, and I loved it enough to be duped into reading the next 600+ pages hoping something great would happen. And then feeling throughout like maybe I should stop reading? But oh man I’ve already read 250-300-450-500 pages, and I’m in it, and I should just finish it because it could turn itself around and maybe, maybe, maybe....
Nope. Instead I got this:
A few twists and turns and scary parts, but mostly hundreds and hundreds of pages of ...more


"Don't leave the street. They can't get you if you don't leave the street.
I just... UGH... I don't know what to rate this because there were parts I hated and parts I loved so just like I did with Book of M, I am going to leave this unrated because this wasn't a one star book or a five star book and the other rating in between don't fit either because I felt very strongly about this book.
So, what's this book about?
Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Letras Macabras: Amigo Imaginario, de Stephen Chbosky | 38 | 141 | Nov 22, 2020 06:43AM | |
Spanish Readers: Amigo imaginario [Octubre 2020] | 14 | 140 | Nov 02, 2020 11:59AM | |
A Good Thriller: Buddy Read - Imaginary Friend | 27 | 36 | Sep 04, 2020 11:36AM | |
Stephen King Fans: Imaginary Friend by Chbosky | 5 | 72 | Apr 22, 2020 02:26PM |
Stephen Chbosky grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Southern California's Filmic Writing Program. His first film, The Four Corners of Nowhere, premiered at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win Best Narrative Feature honors at the Chicago Underground Film Festival.
He is the recipient of the Abraham Polonsky Screenwriting Award for his screenplay ...more
He is the recipient of the Abraham Polonsky Screenwriting Award for his screenplay ...more
Articles featuring this book
For as long as people have been telling stories, we’ve spun tales of the monsters and nightmares that lurk in the shadows of our imaginations....
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“We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.”
—
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“Adults are bad at remembering how powerful they can be because somewhere along the line, they were shamed for their imagination.”
—
14 likes
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